She Was Safe
by hoppers125
Summary: This is my take on what happens after Lucas calls Peyton. Takes place after 5x18.


**This has been sitting on my computer since after the season 5 finale aired. It's my take on what happens after Lucas calls Peyton. Hope you like it.**

She Was Safe

She walked into the airport with one small suitcase rolling behind her. It seemed like only yesterday that she was in this airport arriving from LA, but in fact it was months ago. When she first came back home, she told everyone it wasn't for him, but deep down she knew the real reason. These past few months have been hell on her heart and she tried her best to keep the pain inside, but there is only so much a person's heart and mind can take.

"_I hate you. I wish you'd never come back. You ruined my life."_

Those were the words he had said to her about a week ago that put the final crack in Peyton's heart and shattered it completely. She could accept the fact that he moved on when she couldn't and she could try her best to be his friend when it killed her that they couldn't be more. She'd rather have him as a friend, than nothing at all, but for him to tell her that he hated her was so much more than she could bear. As she walked farther into the airport she thought back to earlier in the day at her office.

_When she decided to paint the comet and the song lyrics that explained how she felt about him on the river court, she finally decided enough was enough and that she had to finally let go and was going to try to mend her broken heart. Peyton decided that she would do whatever it took to get Lucas Scott out of her mind and more importantly, out of her heart. She had to be resigned to the fact that he didn't love her anymore. The drawing was step one. Step two was going to be to avoid him at all costs. But step two came to a halt when he walked into her office._

_She quickly got off the phone and they stood in a few moments of uncomfortable silence. They hadn't seen each other since the 'I hate you' incident and she wasn't even sure he had seen her drawing. She could feel his eyes, those beautiful, piercing blue eyes on her, but she couldn't make herself look at him. Then he spoke._

_"I don't hate you." Tears started to form in her eyes at his words and she willed them to stop but she was at her breaking point. Peyton finally looked at Lucas as she heard him move farther into the room. She watched him sit down as he continued to speak._

_"I remember the first time I ever saw you; all skinny arms and a tangled mess of hair. It was hard letting you Peyton. It was hard loosing you and it was hard seeing you again. And it's still…really hard."_

_"I know." Peyton whispered as she looked into his eyes and she could see the pain in them. Lucas always wore his heart on his sleeve, but as of late, he could be cold and hurtful, but she could slowly see that slipping away and the old Lucas coming back._

_"When I'm asleep, I have this dream where we're back in that hotel room in LA and you propose to me, and every single time I say yes."_

_"It's just a dream, right?" He asks._

_"It's my dream."_

_After her brief talk with Lucas, Peyton collected her things and decided to head home. She was physically and emotionally tired and all she wanted to do was sleep. She didn't know where she stood with Lucas and she was tired of thinking about it. Suddenly her cell phone rang._

"_Hello?" At first, no one said anything and she was about to hang up when the other person spoke._

"_Hey, it's me. Look, I'm at the airport and I've got two tickets to Las Vegas. Do you want to get married tonight?" Peyton couldn't believe what she just heard. So much so that she had to pull the car over before she crashed. Lucas Scott was proposing to her- again. She never thought she would hear those words from him again. But, was he for real? He didn't still love her did he? Was he just settling for her because Lindsey didn't want him anymore?_

"_Peyton, are you still there?"_

"_I…I'm still here." She whispered._

"_Did you hear what I asked you?" Lucas asked hopefully._

"_Are you serious, Lucas, because if this is some kind of cruel joke, my heart can't take it?" She pleaded on the verge of tears._

"_It's not a joke Peyton. I wouldn't joke about something like this." Lucas explained sincerely._

"_I don't know what to say. I…I thought you were in love with Lindsey? I don't want to be your second choice." She explained. She didn't want him to settle for her because no one else wanted him. She wanted his whole heart to love her and only her._

"_Do you love me Peyton?" He asked. He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear her say it. He needed to hear those words from her mouth._

"_With all my heart." She replied softly._

"_Then go home, pack a bag, and come to the airport. The flight leaves in about 3 hours and we can talk, in person. I don't want to do this over the phone." He explained. He hoped that she would do as he asked. There were so many things he needed to say to her and they shouldn't be said through a phone. He didn't hear a response from her for a few seconds and started to get worried. "Peyton, please?" _

_Should she really do this? Was he sincere or was he just going to break her heart again. But she wanted this more than anything. If she could have one wish in this world, it would to be Mrs. Lucas Scott._

"_I'll be there in thirty minutes." _

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the announcer over the intercom announce the next flight that was boarding. She looked around the crowded airport looking for Lucas. He had told her he would meet her at the door, but he was no where around. She had taken longer than thirty minutes and she hoped that he didn't think she changed her mind. She walked further into the airport and looked ahead of her and there he was standing twenty feet in front of her.

Lucas saw her walk in and made his way over to her. After all these years she still took his breath away. She had lost some weight since she had been back and she grew her hair out longer and it was straighter. Every time he saw her he saw the sadness that was in her eyes and he knew he was the cause of it, but as he looked at her now, he could see hope in them and a slight smile on her face and it brought joy to his heart. He wasn't sure what came over him, but seeing her standing there with her suitcase behind her and knowing that she was going to marry him, he walked over to her, pulled her close and swept her up in a kiss. This wasn't just any kiss. It was a kiss that was filled with all the longing he had for her since he had first seen she had come back when they were at the river court all those many months ago.

Lucas felt she was apprehensive at first, but he pulled her closer and cradled her face with his hands and deepened the kiss. With his tongue he gently begged entrance to her mouth. At this action, he felt her relax and she wrapped her arms around his neck trying to bring him closer to her and she opened her mouth deepening the kiss. Kissing Lucas was better than she ever remembered. It had been 3 long years since she felt his lips on hers, except for the short lived kiss at TRIC before he proposed to Lindsey, and it was something she never wanted to forget again.

Soon air was becoming an issue and Lucas broke the kiss, but still kept Peyton close. He rested his forehead against hers and said, "I thought maybe you changed your mind." Peyton pulled back a little and looked into his eyes and saw that he was trying to hold back tears. She had never seen Lucas like this, so emotional that he was on the verge of tears.

"No. I got held up at the house with Brooke. I didn't know about Angie leaving until I got home. I should have called you. I'm sorry." Peyton replied sincerely. Lucas took her hand and led her over to the rows of seats that were in front of the ticket counter and they sat down.

"It's okay. I know Brooke is taking Angie leaving really hard. But she'll be okay. She's strong." Lucas said. He was still holding on to Peyton's hand, caressing it slowly and they lapsed into silence with the constant movement of the airport.

"What are we doing Lucas? A couple of months ago you said I Do to Lindsey and fought like hell to get her back, and now all of a sudden you want to marry me? I can't help but feel like you are just settling for me." Peyton said.

Lucas took hold of her other hand and took a deep breath and asked, "You read my book, didn't you?"

"Yes. Lindsey gave it to me."

"Lindsey? I thought maybe Haley gave it to you?" He asked confused.

"I went to New York a couple of weeks ago to talk her into giving you another chance." She confessed not looking at him.

"Why would you do that?" Lucas asked surprised at her confession.

"Because Luke. I knew you were in love with her and she was what you wanted. I love you and I want you to be happy, even if it isn't with me." Lucas couldn't believe the woman in front of him, how selfless she was. She was willing to hold in her feelings for him and let him be happy with someone else. He surely didn't deserve a woman like Peyton Sawyer. From now on he was going to do everything in his power to make her happy. He brought his hand up to her cheek and brought her in for a chaste kiss.

"I saw Lindsey this afternoon; my book is done."

"That's great, Luke." She said with a smile.

"I tried to deny for so long that this second book wasn't about you, but Lindsey and even Haley knew otherwise. I kept telling myself that it was a coincidence that you drove a comet and that is was just about a scientist waiting to see a comet again. But when I saw your drawing on the river court this afternoon, it was like a light went on in my head. I have been waiting three years for you to come back to me and after the book signing, I gave up hope. So while Lindsey and I were editing my first book, I grew to love her. I knew she had feelings for me and I also knew she would be safe." Lucas explained.

"Safe?"

"I was devastated when you said you didn't want to marry me."

"I never…" Peyton began, but Lucas cut her off.

"I know that now, but then I was too hurt to actually hear what you were saying. I basically gave you an ultimatum and that was so very wrong of me, Peyton, and I am so, so sorry for that. If I hadn't been so stubborn, we could possibly be married by now and not have wasted the last three years and that is my fault. I love Lindsey, and I knew deep down that if things didn't work out, I wouldn't be devastated like I was with you, therefore she was safe."

"So if you still love Lindsey, then why am I here and not her?"

"I love Lindsey and probably always will, but…I'm in love with you Peyton." Lucas answered. He let go of one of her hands and brought his hand up to cradle her face. She turned her head into his hand and closed her eyes and tears she didn't know where there fell onto her cheeks. She had been waiting three years for him to tell her that he was still in love with her.

"I love you too, so much, but what about Lindsey? I know she's still in love with you, and it will probably be only a matter of time before she realizes that she wants you back. What then?" Peyton asked.

"When I was at the river court and saw your drawing, which is amazing by the way, everything clicked into place. I was sitting there, taking it all in and she called me. I had sent her my dedication for the book and I guess it made her realize that she missed me."

"That must have been a really good dedication." Peyton said with a small smile.

"'To all those lost souls that forgot to believe in the immensity of love.' I was one of those lost souls and your drawing made me realize what a jackass I have been and it reminded me how much I love you. I hate to be clichéd, but your art matters. It's what got me here." He explained.

"So what happened with Lindsey?" Peyton asked not looking at him.

"I…" He began, but she interrupted him saying, "Wait, I don't want to know. Just as long as you can look me in the eye and tell him we are forever. I don't want to go through this again, Lucas. It was too hard being without you and I don't think I could do it again." Lucas cradled her face in his hands and looked her in the eye and replied, "I'm not going anywhere, Peyton, I promise. It's you, it's always been you." He then pulled her close and kissed her with everything he had. He wanted her to know what he said was true and to not make her doubt him again. She pulled him closer and deepened the kiss. She never wanted to miss what she was feeling at this moment ever again. After air became an issue, they pulled back from each other.

"Do you think maybe we are rushing this marriage thing?" Peyton asked. Lucas thought about her question for a minute. Where they rushing things? They were finally back on track with each other and he didn't want to screw things up. Finally he said, "I want to be with you forever, Peyton, I know in my heart that this is right, but if you need some more time, I can wait. But since the tickets are already paid for, let's go to Vegas, spend some time with each other again and see what happens. Okay?"

Peyton sat back in her chair and pulled Lucas with her and laid her head on his shoulder. She couldn't believe this was finally happening. She finally had Lucas and everything was right with the world.

"This is perfect, isn't it? Us?" She asked. Lucas remembered the first time he asked her the same question at the victory party after the Ravens had won the State Championship. Lucas smiled, kissed the top of her head and replied, "It's perfect."


End file.
